Kind of Like a Rom Com
by TroubledFred
Summary: Veronica?" a familiar voice broke through her thoughts. She was surprised with the ultimate blast from the past. "Jughead Jones the third," she responded unable to hide the surprise in her voice. Jughead and Veronica become Roommates then more. 1st in the Green Pen Universe.


Disclaimer: I don't own Riverdale or it's characters.

This is Jughead X Veronica with slight Betty X Archie. Enjoy.

* * *

The touchscreen on Veronica's Keurig breaks on a day where caffeine is an absolute must. You would think that the device would work anyway but there is no way for her to click any of the options and tell it to brew.

Why oh why did she let Allison, the paralegal at her work, talk her into getting drinks last night?

Right, because today is her only day off this week and she thought she would be able to spend it skyping Kevin and watching AMC classics.

Such is the life of an overworked prosecutor.

Veronica just sighs and debates if she should go buy a new Keurig or trek her ass down the street to her favorite cafe for a cup of liquid gold.

The pounding in her head from her hangover decides for her.

Liquid gold it is.

Gone are the days of custom-made designer dresses, handbags, and shoes. Now Veronica shops off the rack, if she's lucky.

Sliding her vintage second-hand black cigarette jeans up her legs and shoving her feet into yellow flats she knows that there are girls from high school who would love to use this to take Veronica down a peg but it's a small price to pay for freedom.

Plus, she spent 7 years going to school to be a lawyer, student loans are killer.

Living in Williamsburg borough in Brooklyn wasn't too bad, yea there were a lot of hipsters, but the culture was lively and from her apartment, she had a great view of Manhattan. There was always a ton of eatery choices and of course, her favorite coffee shop was just down the street.

The place was a bit kitschy, but they roasted their own beans and make amazing coffee so who was she to complain. Plus, their buttery croissants were to die for.

Walking into the place she was delightfully surprised to see that it wasn't packed to the gills with caffeine addicts like herself, ignoring the scattering of patrons at the tables around her she couldn't decide on a latte or Americano.

"Veronica?" a familiar voice broke through her thoughts. She was surprised with the ultimate blast from the past.

Jughead was sitting to the right of her at a small table, laptop open with a book lying face down next to it. A cup of black coffee resting on the table as well.

"Jughead Jones the third," she responded unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

"The one and only" He responded with a small smile across his face. He was a far cry from the Jughead she had seen almost eight years ago when she left Riverdale.

His voice was just a touch deeper, his grey beanie was missing and there was no serpent leather jacket in sight. She feels as if she was staring in the face of a doppelganger or something.

"Your order?" The barista broke through her thoughts.

"Go on get your coffee, you can join me after" She nods still a bit in shock at seeing him. Ordering a hazelnut latte and a chocolate croissant she thinks about the last time she saw Jughead.

It was at graduation, they had given each other a polite congratulations, they didn't even hug. Considering that Betty Cooper left the summer before senior year to live with Polly and her twins in California and she had broken up with Archie at the beginning of the school year. There was no reason for them to keep in touch.

The last time they had actually had a conversation was right after Betty left when he had cornered her in the hall interrogating her about it. It had resulted in a screaming match that Kevin and Archie both had to break up.

They had taken out their frustration at Betty out on each other and it took its toll. Turns out the only person Betty said goodbye to was Archie. She couldn't blame the girl since their friendship had declined dramatically due to their relationships.

She ended up forgiving Betty only three months into the school year after the Varchie break up when she received a long letter. Betty had left for a number of reasons, first was her mental health which was rapidly declining, next was the addiction to prescription pills that she was receiving help for.

Last but not least was her toxic relationship with Jughead. Betty had realized the spiral they were heading down to and knew that in order to break it she needed to leave. So she left to California to find and become the Betty Cooper she wanted to be.

Veronica remembers the wild desperation of dialing Betty's cell phone number and hoping beyond hope that it still worked. It didn't, but in the letter after Betty's name was her new one and she called as soon as she had realized it.

They had sobbed for ten minutes on the phone with each other before either of them even spoke. Mostly it was apologetic promises of a new friendship, one that still held to this day. It was so strong that often Veronica would fly across the country just spend her vacations with Betty.

Grabbing her coffee and treat she made her way towards Jughead who smiled as soon as he saw her approach.

"Out of all the coffeeshops in the world… " He trailed off causing Veronica to laugh.

"So, what are you doing here?" She questioned.

"Well, I live here, for about a year now." He went on to explain how he needed a change of scenery after graduation, so he packed up and traveled for a year before entering community college as an English major, he then went on to get his BA then masters and teaching credentials. He was currently teaching some English classes at the local colleges here, as well as some creative writing workshops and was doing some editing for a small online journal.

"What about you?" She explained how after graduation she got accepted into NYU where she decided, after taking an aptitude test, that she would study law, it took a lot of hard work, but she loves her job at a small practice and while it wasn't a large corporate firm where she was making a ton of money she was happy.

A relaxing lull entered the conversation before she got up the nerve to ask him about Archie.

"Do you still talk to Archie?"

"Are you in contact with Betty?"

They both had the same idea it seems as they laughed before he motioned for her to go first.

"Do you and Archie still talk?" She questioned, while she knew Betty talked to Archie still, she avoided bringing him up, mostly because it's the past and she just wanted to leave it there. She only asked Jughead because they were so close, and she would hate it if he answered in the negative.

"Yea, actually all the time. Archie, he-" Jughead broke off, but cleared his throat and pushed through it. "He never gave up on me, no matter how hard I tried to push him away. It's that stubborn Andrew's blood" He joked to disguise the emotion he was feeling at the confession.

Archie and Jughead got into a huge fight before he left on his travels, but Archie being the loyal, lovable kind guy that he is called Jughead at least three times a week always leaving voice messages. Most of them were meaningless, with Archie just detailing his normal everyday activities.

"After two months I finally broke down and called him. I always knew I would, especially since I couldn't bring myself to delete them without listening." She smiled at him, relieved to hear that. "What about Betty and yourself, still friends?"

Veronica couldn't miss the hope that she heard in his voice at his question about their friendship. He too must have been worried that they didn't keep in touch. She was glad she could relieve his concerns.

"Yes, she really is my best friend, just don't ever tell Kevin I said that. He would probably murder me," She joked causing him to laugh.

Looking at his laptop she decided to turn the conversation to lighter topics.

"Still working on the next great American novel?" She teased but frowned when Jughead tensed. So writing now has apparently become a sensitive subject.

She makes a note of this in case there are any other future conversations.

"No, actually I haven't-" He huffed at his inability to articulate "I'm looking for a new place. The owner sold the building and the new owners want everyone out so they can completely remodel. I got a 30-day notice and everything." He explains while turning the laptop around so she can see the listings.

"Sorry, if you need any help just let me know. I feel like 30 days is definitely not enough time to move." Veronica examines some of the listings on his computer, most are studios but there isn't a lot available. At least not in the price range he's looking for.

"One week left actually, I've already been looking for three" He shrugs, "Not a lot of decent places available in my price range. Teachers don't make a lot of money, which is why I have the other two jobs." Maybe there is something about the look on his face, as he turns the laptop back towards himself. Maybe it's because she always wished they could be friends, or maybe it's because she is feeling a bit nostalgic, but she offers him her extra bedroom.

"It was supposed to be an office I can work from, but I don't use it." She hastily adds he gives her a look and she feels as if he is searching for something, probably if she was sincere. So she stares back, tries to convey her sincerity.

He blinks and says he that he will think about. She a little disappointed but more relieved, because asking someone who you haven't seen in eight years to move in with you is a little crazy. Noticing the time and the fact that she had a Skype appointment with Kevin in a couple of minutes they exchange numbers.

She walks out of the coffee shop completely convinced that she will never hear from Jughead Jones the third again.

Imagine her surprise when she gets a call three days later asking if her offer was still available. She says yes and they plan on him moving in the next day.

When he comes to pick up the extra key from her that morning at her work, she is bombarded by questions from her coworker who wonders who "tall, dark and handsome" is. She laughs because she has never thought of Jughead like that. She pretty much refused to since in her mind he was Betty's and untouchable.

Getting home that night she isn't sure what to expect, and she is a little apprehensive, to be honest. It's a nice surprise however when she smells a heavenly scent and moves to the kitchen noticing marinara that is simmering on the stove.

Jughead cooked her dinner as a thank you for allowing him to move in.

When they open a bottle of wine and sit-down Veronica must know where he learned to cook because it was pretty much the best pasta she has ever had.

Jughead had told when he first started traveling, he lived above a small Italian restaurant in Chicago. He ate there pretty much every night and the owner's mother who was the head cook had taken pity on him and taught him a couple of recipes.

"I can make pasta by hand but ask me to scramble an egg and I would be lost" he jokes and she laughs the wine going to her head and making it louder than she would like.

"You're in luck because I actually know how to cook." She boasts. Kevin's mother had taught her and Kevin their senior year so they wouldn't be completely useless when they went off to college. While Kevin wasn't too bad it turns out Veronica was a natural. "I also know Pop's burger recipe." she laughs again when he interrogates her about it.

"You forgot I worked there all of Junior and senior year." she reminds him.

"But I practically lived there!" he argues outraged

"Did you ever ask?" she smirks asks already knowing the answer.

He answers in the negative sulking a bit, suddenly his face goes serious and she wonders what's bothering him. She gets her answer quick.

"About senior year…" he trails off but before he can start again, she interrupts.

"No need Jughead, we were both in a bad place and I don't blame you for anything you said." she swallows a bit trying not to think of the things they shouted at each other.

"Veronica I need to apologize. I was in a bad place. Betty leaving almost broke me and I just…" he grabs her hand and its rough against the softness of hers. "I shouldn't have said any of it. I never should have blamed you. I should have been the friend I thought I was to both you and Archie." she nods.

"I accept, but I have to apologize as well. I was just dealing with all that stuff with my parents and I shouldn't have taken it out on you." he squeezes her hand before letting go.

"I guess I should apologize for not being there for you when you went through all that." He gives her a look that she can't seem to decode. She swallows hard trying to release the lump in her throat.

It's been years but all that stuff with her parents still affects her like it was yesterday. Her dad had tried to get Archie arrested, had Jughead almost killed and had threatened Betty and her family. Her mom hadn't even lifted a finger to stop in, in fact, she had helped. Veronica knew she had no choice, so she ended up having to take both her parents down by pretending to take their side. When she had finally got enough evidence, she had taken it straight to the authorities, who then contacted the FBI who apparently had been watching her family.

Testifying against her own parents was the absolute hardest thing she ever had to do in her life.

"It was a long time ago Jughead." he nods lifting his glass.

"To new beginnings!" She clicks her glass with his.

"Here, here!" she agrees.

Jughead was an extraordinary roommate. He didn't have very much stuff, just a bookshelf overfilled with books, a desk, and a bed. He was clean and never left a mess, except every once in the while she would find a random green pen. He also was very quiet.

Which is why she sometimes forgot she had a roommate, and it's why she had accidentally ran into Jughead in the hallway naked.

It's been a week since he moved in and since they just recently landed a huge case at the firm she works, Veronica has been given more responsibilities than normal. That means longer hours at work and basically only coming home to sleep.

Veronica knows she's been pushing herself too hard and if the angry texts from Betty and Kevin are any indication, she's been neglecting her friends, but this was her chance to prove that she could handle these pressures. She promised both of them that when she could she would make it up to them

That morning Veronica had woken up late, she had come home the night before with a huge headache and immediately crashed. Rushing around like a chicken with her head off she cursed when in the shower she realized that she had left her towel on her bed. Trying to shake any excess water off so she didn't leave her floors soaking wet she opened the door to rush to her room when she ran into what felt like a brick wall.

Arms flailing, her and the wall land on the floor in a tangle of limbs.

"Holy shit," the masculine voice of Jughead cursed. "Why are you naked?!" he yells when his hands try to push her off but instead keep getting handfuls of inappropriate skin.

"Stop moving and close your eyes!" Veronica yells and he immediately complies. Pushing herself off of him, which she now notices that a) he's shirtless, b) when the hell did, he get abs when he eats like a dump truck and c) she needs to stop having inappropriate thoughts when she's naked on top of him, she rushes towards her room and slams the door.

Getting dressed, Veronica breathes deeply before she leaves the room, because embarrassed or not she's a freaking adult, and a lawyer and a Lodge and she will handle this with dignity.

He's hunched over seated at the table eating cereal and dressed for his day. When he sees her, he stands up straighter and pointedly looks her in the face.

"So, let's never mention the naked hallway fiasco ever and I'll buy us Chinese tonight from this place down the street" he nods and there is an awkward silence that fills the air where he's still staring her wide eyed and she feels naked despite being fully dressed.

"So, see you tonight with food." He waves and goes back to eating his cereal, and she walks out slowly.

That night things are a little awkward but then Jughead starts talking about his students and Veronica relaxes and no one brings up naked flesh.

Two days after the hallway incident that no one talks about, Betty calls. Veronica is actually home and she's waiting for Jughead who had run out to get the ingredients for burgers.

He doesn't believe she has Pops recipe.

"Hello B!" She greets with a smile "How are Polly and the twins?" Betty immediately launches into a story on how the twins haven't been able to decide what they want to be for Halloween and it's driving poor Polly up the wall. Veronica laughs at appropriate places and tries not miss her Cooper family too much.

"So, are we going to be expecting you for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year?" Betty asks and usually, the answer is yes but with the case and everything Veronica doesn't think she will be able to make it.

Betty is halfway through her "You better be taking care of yourself" lecture when Jughead arrives groceries in hand.

"Okay Lodge, I bought everything so here is a chance to prove yourself"

"Prepare to be dazzled torombolo!" She yells back and Veronica notices the phone has gone eerily quiet. Cursing herself, she realizes that she has yet to tell her friends about Jughead moving in.

"Betty?" She asks cautiously and breathes a sigh of relief when she answers back.

"I'm here, was that Jughead?" Veronica makes her way from the living room to her room and responds.

"Yeah," suddenly Veronica finds herself blabbering to Betty about seeing Jughead, and his subsequent moving in. "I'm sorry for not telling you Betty," but stops when she hears Betty's tinkling laughter.

"V, we are not in high school anymore. I'm not mad he's living with you, or anything, I'm madder at the fact that we've been too busy to talk to each other than I am about that." Veronica breath rushes out of her when she realizes she had been holding it in anticipation of Betty's reaction.

"There's actually a reason I called" Betty confesses. She goes on to explain that Archie had recently visited, and they shared a kiss. Betty starts to apologize, but now its Veronica's turn to laugh.

"B, like you said we aren't in high school if you and Archie want to do the horizontal tango be my guest." Betty lets out a snort and both women resolve into a fit of giggles. After exchanging "I miss yous" and "I love yous" Veronica makes her way into the kitchen to start prepping the burgers.

"Someone was making a lot of noise in her room." Jughead teases when he sees her, Veronica rolls her eyes.

"Just talking to Betty." She watches his face when she mentions her blonde bff but his face stays relaxed. She suddenly wonders how he would react to Betty's confession about Archie.

"Oh, yeah Archie mentioned seeing her in California." Shaking his head, he tries to peer over her shoulder as she makes the patties. "He thought I would freak out when he told me about their kiss, I had to remind him we aren't in high school anymore." He shrugs. " He says hi by the way." She looks up at him to see him watching her closely.

Oh, was he checking her for a reaction?

"Tell him Hi back I guess." she laughs before pushing him out the kitchen for crowding her space.

While Jughead had conceded that the burgers tasted like Pops, Pops burgers were still better and that was mostly because of the man himself than the food.

Veronica wonders if they should get rid of the dining room table and put a booth in, while Jughead laughs but they both know it wouldn't be the same.

"Do you want those horrible fluorescent lights hanging around your apartment." She smiles widely.

"No," she concedes but lets out a wistful sigh. "but I wouldn't mind having Archie and Betty here with us."

"Yeah," he breathes out and she can hear the same wistfulness in his voice their eyes connect, and she feels something shift slightly for them.

The mood is them broken when he takes a huge bite from his burger and gets ketchup all over his face. She laughs and he does it again while she takes a small bite hastily wiping her face with a napkin after.

Later that night she gets an angry call from Kevin because how dare she not tell him about Jughead living with her. He had to hear it from Betty of all people, and she tries not to laugh the entire time. It's also not helping that Jughead keeps making funny faces and pretending to be Kevin.

She notices that she laughs all the time when Jughead's around and if she isn't laughing, she's smiling. It gets noticed by her coworkers immediately, and they constantly question her about "Tall, dark, and handsome" she takes it all in stride until Allison says

"If you won't take him can I have him?" and that bothers her a lot. She doesn't want to dwell too long on that emotion but simply gives her coworker a lecture about how Jughead isn't a piece of meat.

Allison backs off but gives her a look that to Veronica is very telling and she's tempted to deny it but she has too much work on her desk and she doesn't have the time.

However, while she and Jughead talk they never talk about significant others (except for the chosen two, Archie and Betty) so she doesn't even know if he has a girlfriend already or if he even wants to date.

Later when she gets home, Jughead is sitting on the couch grading his student's papers with a green pen. He has a beer next to him and AMC on in the background.

"Hey," he greets as Veronica sets her briefcase down and toes off her heels. "long day?" he questions, and she just nods. Grabbing a glass, she pours herself some wine and sits next to him. She decides that now is a good of a time as any to bring up relationships.

"One of the women at my work wants me to hook you guys up." She eyes him out of the corner of her eye, but he doesn't give anything away. She expects a question about her looks or something of that sort, so she is surprised when she asks.

"Is she smart?" Veronica blinks at him but he still hasn't looked up from his papers.

"She's a paralegal." is the answer she gives but he just shakes his head and marks something on one of the papers.

"That doesn't mean anything to me. Can she defend herself if I challenge her opinion? What does she read?" Veronica takes a while to respond merely because she is trying to think back to see if she ever saw a book in Allison's hand.

"Nicholas Sparks, I think." She answers and Jughead makes a face at that, so she hastily adds "and is anyone ever equip to defend themselves when you are in the mood to argue?" She smiles because she thinks she's gotten him, but his response takes her by surprise.

"You do." He finally looks up and chocolate brown meets green. She isn't sure what to say because this is unfamiliar territory with them. She clears her throat and tries to break the mood.

"Well, I am one of a kind" She flips her hair over her shoulder for effect and he smiles.

"That you are Ronnie, that you are" She bites her lip at the nickname, but settles back into the couch next to him in silence and watches the T.V.

Thanksgiving is coming up and both Jughead and Veronica stay in town.

FP is coming down for Christmas, instead, he has decided to spend Thanksgiving with The Cooper girls in California. She knows this because Betty had mentioned it and she spent a half an hour interrogating Betty then an hour questioning Jughead on the Nature of FP and Alice's relationship.

While she has alternative plans offered by both Kevin and Cheryl, she turns them down. The case is starting two weeks after Thanksgiving and she can't afford to miss too much work. Plus, Gladys and Jellybean are coming down and she doesn't trust Jughead not to burn the apartment down while cooking.

He may make a mean pasta but if he has to turn on a oven something is getting burnt.

So she agrees to cook and while she doesn't mind going all out she puts her foot down at having a turkey and a ham. He whines and tries to bribe her, but she doesn't relent even when he promises no leftovers. Where he puts all that food once he eats it is a complete mystery to Veronica because she doesn't think she has ever seen him exercise. He only gives up when she promises to make ham for Christmas and it's then that she realizes that she basically promised to spend the holidays with him and his family.

She refuses to read into this.

She is a bit nervous to meet his mom and sister, but she doesn't let it show. Her fears are unfounded because while Gladys is slightly rough around the edges, she treats Veronica nicely and Jellybean latches on to her immediately wanting to know every detail. They don't stay in the apartment, but in a nice hotel not too far away and Veronica rolls her eyes every time Jughead complains about it.

He finally stops when Veronica threatens to throw out every single green pen he owns and banish them from the apartment. Both of the Jones women back her up and Jughead shuts up and grumbles about how they like Veronica more than him.

"Who doesn't?" Veronica replies.

Gladys more than once refers to Veronica as Jughead's girlfriend, while the three of them, Jughead, Veronica, and Jellybean, just stop correcting her instead sharing smiles when she does it anyway.

Thanksgiving goes off without a hitch, not that Veronica had expected it to be any different considering that she was cooking, and all four of them stuff themselves silly. Gladys and Jellybean leave Saturday night and Jughead has plans to show them around the city on Friday, while Veronica spends some time going over some case notes.

Both Gladys and Jellybean beg her to come with, but she can't. She does promise to have dinner with them that night, even going so far to make reservations at this expensive restaurant in Manhattan. She has to dig slightly into her savings for it but she wants to do it, so she justifies the cost.

Gladys and Jughead are in the kitchen doing dishes, while Jellybean is interrogating Veronica on the couch about being a lawyer. Jellybean is attending college at the University of Toledo, but she is still undecided. Veronica answers all her questions but eventually runs out of wine, and if she is going to continue talking to Jughead's sister about work she is definitely going to need more wine.

Excusing herself, she grabs her glass and makes her way towards the kitchen but stops before the entryway when she hears Gladys and Jughead talking.

"You gotta keep a hold of this one Jug. She's perfect." Gladys says.

"Mom, how many times do I have to tell you that Veronica is not my girlfriend." Jughead's voice sounds frustrated.

"Yeah, yeah I know. It's just you both are perfect for each other. Plus, she can cook and she is gorgeous. She is basically your dream girl." Jughead doesn't respond so Gladys continues "Is it a bad thing that I want my son to settle down with a girl that has her shit together?" She questions.

"No, but mom I really doubt that Veronica thinks about me in that way at all." There is something in Jughead's voice that makes Veronica want to take a peek into the kitchen.

"Okay, but what about you? Do you think about her in that way?" Veronica knows that she shouldn't be listening to this, but she really wants to know Jughead's answer. She leans forward to look in the kitchen, but she forgets about the wine glass and it slips from her hands.

It doesn't shatter but the stem breaks off and she curses. Footsteps come and all three Joneses are standing around her.

"Dropped my glass," she mumbles and immediately feels like an idiot. The rest of Gladys and Jellybean's trip goes off without a hitch and Veronica is immersed with work again that the Kitchen incident is forgotten.

Veronica brings Jughead as her plus one to her firm's Christmas party because of the free booze and food. She refuses to give in to her coworker's teasing about "Tall, Dark, and Handsome" merely explaining that they were friends. He does stay next to her side the entire time and even dances with her when she begs. His hands seem to always be a warm reminder of his presence on the small of her back, and she leans more and more against him as the time gets later. She is practically asleep on his shoulder as they catch a cab back to their place and he pretty much carries her up to the apartment. She gives him a kiss on the cheek as thanks and he gives a bow when she calls him a gentleman.

Veronica sends thanks to every higher being in existence for online shopping and expedited shipping because soon enough Christmas is here. FP arrives on the 22nd and Jughead had practically forced his father to stay in their apartment. Jughead keeps saying that he will sleep on the couch, but snow has been falling steadily outside and their living room gets drafty. Plus, Veronica had pretty much commandeered all the blankets.

She ends up suggesting that Jughead just platonically share her bed with her and at first, he refuses but finds out he can't sleep a whole night out in their cold living room and practically shoves her over to get warm. They wake up tangled together and it may have been awkward if they weren't so comfortable cuddled together, so they blame it on the cold.

FP makes coffee and they both race to get a cup and his dad smiles and calls them Caffeine addicts. She notices the way that FP seems to eye them but is grateful he doesn't bring anything up. She doesn't overhear any conversations between Jughead and his dad during the visit. On Christmas day they exchange gifts, she got FP a black coat that he swears fits him like a glove, and she gives Jughead a leather-bound journal with his initials engraved into the cover along with a nice set of feather dip ink pens, also engraved. FP gives her a nice cashmere navy scarf that she gushes over and is surprised when she gets two gifts from Jughead. One is a small bottle of Chanel no5, which she had recently run out but was waiting for her next paycheck to buy, and another is a white gold necklace with a pearl pendant on it.

She goes speechless at the sight of it, now she is wishing she would have gotten Jughead something else, something more meaningful. He waves off her concern on price, saying it wasn't as expensive as she thought it was instead offering to help her put it on.

Unlike the string of pearls, she used to wear as a teenager this one is nowhere near heavy or unwanted.

She is able to see FP off at the airport and is surprised when Jughead steps away for a second because FP thought he dropped something on the way. It turns out to be a ruse to get Veronica alone.

"Ya know if you and Jughead have something going on, you don't have to hide it from me." She blinks in confusion and he adds "I just want to see my son happy, okay? You make him happy and I don't want you to think I wouldn't approve. I approve." Jughead comes back before she can answer, and FP makes a show of having found it in his pockets.

On the way back to their apartment Jughead questions her silence.

"Did my dad say something to you back at the airport?" She shakes her head in the negative, making an excuse about her current trial.

They cuddle now. It seems that sharing a bed and waking up in each other's arms while FP was in town broke the ice on touching. Plus, it does get pretty cold. Veronica doesn't hesitate to fold her cold feet under him regardless of his protests and Jughead likes to place his cold hands under her shirt in retaliation.

In a three-way Skype call with Kevin and Betty, Veronica mentions this development off-handedly and they both give her a look. Betty is the one to mention a potential Jeronica relationship and Kevin immediate starts grilling her for details. She spends most of the call trying to dissuade them of this thought, but it doesn't work, so she hangs up on them during mid teasing.

It doesn't stop either of them from texting her date ideas (Kevin) or reasons they should just sleep together (surprisingly Betty).

One of Jughead's Coworkers at the college is having a New Year's Eve party and he convinces Veronica to be his date. She goes all out since it's been a while that she was able to go to a party that was not a work function and dresses in a slinky silver dress and strappy heels. She knows she will probably be cold but figures sometimes you need to sacrifice something to look good.

It may have been worth it to see Jughead's gob smacked look and to hear him say that he was going with the most gorgeous women in New York. It doesn't help that he is pretty handsome himself in black chinos and a fitted tucked in grey shirt. Once again, she wonders at his metabolism.

At the party, they spend most of their time together. When she goes to get some Champagne to drink, a guy walks up to her and starts flirting. He's pretty cute, but his all-American smile and haircut sort of reminds her of Archie. She turns down his multiple advances, but he doesn't seem to get the hint. Veronica is about ready to just say fuck it on the champagne and just turn and walk away when warm hands circle her about the waist and a kiss is placed on his neck.

"Hey babe," a breathy voice greets her and she turns around in Jughead's arms.

"Hey." She responds back and pecks his lips to keep up the charade. She hears the guy in the background apologize about flirting with Jughead's girl. The guy disappears but neither Jughead or Veronica pay any attention. He gets her some champagne, and they make their way to the dance floor.

All night they constantly touch. Either their holding hands or he's gripping her hips, or her arms are around his neck. The alcohol fuels these touches that seem to get less innocent as the night wears on. At midnight, when the ball drops, they find themselves in a dark corner. Veronica is standing between Jughead's legs, who is sitting on a stool. Both of her hands are buried in his thick dark hair, one of his arms wrapped around her waist while the other is on her cheek. Their tongues battling for dominance, they are interrupted by a drunk friend of Jughead who shouts Happy New Year in their ears. They spend the rest of the party alternating between the dancefloor and the dark corner.

They don't sleep together, but they don't talk about it either.

The new year brings a start to the college classes for Jughead, and for her, the trial starts wrapping up. They win and Veronica gets acknowledged for her role in it. That night she goes home, and they celebrate by splurging on sushi, wine and a couple of kisses.

It seems kissing has made its way into their routines. Veronica doesn't know what to make of it but she doesn't want to ruin anything by labeling it. Plus, it's not like their sleeping with each other so there is no need to make things a big deal. They still have their own separate rooms that they sleep in every night, and they still each split the bills by half every month.

Kevin and Betty both seem to think it's a huge deal, and Kevin keeps pushing Veronica to label it, but Veronica refuses. Betty seems to understand Veronica's hesitance and tries to reassure her that it's okay for now, but sooner or later they do need to talk about it.

On the day that Veronica gets to lead her own case, she immediately calls Jughead. He promises to make her favorite butternut squash ravioli and pick up a bottle of that expensive wine that she loves to celebrate. When she gets home that night, practically on cloud nine, she kisses him without thinking about it.

They eat, and she practically inhales the food, they drink the entire bottle of wine and end up on the couch together. Their kisses before having been pretty PG but this one seems different. There's tongue and saliva and heavy petting. When one of Jughead's hands makes its way up Veronica's skirt she makes the suggestion of a bed.

Clothes are removed and strung about Veronica's bedroom haphazardly.

When Veronica awakes the next morning naked and in Jughead's arms. They both take a shower together and get ready for their day as usual.

Jughead starts to sleep in Veronica's bed on a nightly basis.

Veronica chalks it all up to the extra stress of heading up her own case, and while it isn't a huge murder investigation or anything remotely interesting, she is still the one that will have to take all the blame if something goes wrong.

Jughead becomes her pillar, putting up with her excessive bitching about incompetent coworkers. He rubs her feet and shoulders on days that are too rough, and make sure she is fed when she forgets to eat.

Waking up one morning with a migraine and sore throat she forces herself up and dressed. Jughead takes one look at her and tells her to call in. She refuses. It's the first real fight they have.

Veronica ends up slamming the door when she leaves, and she hears Jughead let out an angry yell. She tells herself not to cry.

At work, her boss takes one look at her and forces her to leave. But not before telling Veronica that it was irresponsible of her to come in when she is sick, and how she would rather Veronica be out then the entire firm. Veronica properly chastised goes home, Jughead has already left for his class and she is a little happy because she doesn't want to hear her I told you so.

Jughead doesn't say I told you so, instead making Veronica some tea and walking down the street to pick up some albondigas soup from her favorite Mexican restaurant.

She is out two additional days and Jughead stays home and takes care of her during that time. It's on that last day, as Jughead snuggles next to her that she can finally admit that they are in a relationship.

She laughs so hard that she wakes him up.

"Has the sickness got to your brain?" He mumbles tiredly.

"No" she forces out between giggles.

"Then why the hell are you laughing like a crazy person in the middle of the night?" he questions.

"You're my boyfriend," she answers finally saying it out loud.

"Yeah, and?" he responds as if he knew this all along.


End file.
